5 pumpkin skin recipes you'll love
What's the story
Often underrated, pumpkin skin can be a multipurpose ingredient in several dishes. Pumped with fiber and nutrients, pumpkin skin can bring a delightful texture and flavor to your meals. Using this part of the pumpkin not only minimizes waste but also adds a peculiar element to your dishes. Here are five delicious dishes that utilize pumpkin skin to the fullest, providing taste and nutrition.
Crunchy snack
Crispy pumpkin skin chips
Pumpkin skin chips make a simple, yet tasty snack option. Just slice the pumpkin skin into thin strips, toss them with olive oil, salt, and pepper, and bake until crispy. These chips give you a crunchy texture like potato chips but with the added benefit of nutrition from fiber-rich skins. They make for an excellent snack/appetizer that's both healthy and satisfying.
Quick meal
Pumpkin skin stir-fry
Adding pumpkin skin into a stir-fry gives an interesting twist to this quick meal option. Just slice the skins into small pieces and saute them with veggies like bell peppers and broccoli in soy sauce or your favorite seasoning. The skins absorb flavors pretty well while retaining their firmness, making them an ideal addition to any stir-fry dish.
Fresh dish
Roasted pumpkin skin salad
Roasting pumpkin skins enhances their natural sweetness, making them more flavorful. Toss roasted skins with mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, nuts (like almonds or walnuts for crunchiness), and a light vinaigrette dressing for a refreshing salad option. This dish not only combines textures beautifully but also provides essential nutrients from both the greens and roasted skins.
Flavorful garnish
Pumpkin skin soup topping
Using roasted or fried pumpkin skins as soup toppings adds depth of flavor along with extra nutrition to any bowl of soup you enjoy during colder months when pumpkins are abundant at markets near you. Simply roast slices until crispy before crumbling over soups such as creamy squash-based ones, where they complement each other perfectly by adding contrasting textures without overpowering flavors already present within the base broth itself.
Unique twist
Savory pumpkin skin muffins
Muffins made with finely chopped pieces of cooked-down softened bits from leftover scraps after peeling pumpkins themselves are savory muffins like no other we've seen. They provide subtle hints of earthy undertones combined seamlessly with traditional spices you would find in baked goods like cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger to create deliciously moist treats ideal for breakfast or brunches, especially when served with hot beverages like tea or coffee.